Where is gold found on earth?

While gold exists on nearly every continent on earth, there are a few major sources of this precious metal.

In modern times (1880 to present), the majority of the worlds gold supplies have been found on the continent of Africa, with this gold reserve being particularly concentrated in the nation of South Africa. In fact, the largest gold deposit in the world is under the city of Johannesburg in South Africa and, in 2004, the country of South Africa mined 350 tonnes of gold.

Ranking second only to Africa in the amount of available gold is the Kolar district of India, home of the Kolar Gold Fields, an area which has been producing gold since the 2nd century A.D. The Kolar Gold Fields were closed to operation in 2003 but prior to that time, they were the operating center of the worlds second deepest gold mine, the famous Champion Reefs Mine.

In addition to the two locations already mentioned, gold has been found in large amounts in Australia, Canada and the United States of America within the last two centuries. One of the most famous gold finds in the United States was made by General John A.Sutter in the state of California which started what is now known as the California Gold Rush.